Someday We'll Look Back

COVID-19 has brought us all kinds of strange news, strange behavior and even strange people!

Of course, in any BigBoxStore, you see it all.

There are those who think they're immune and seem completely unaware that others are aren't comfortable with folks who step right up into their personal space to ask where something is.  Or to complain that there isn't TP, or sanitizer, or masks. 

Then there are those who come up with some strange things in the stores.  I've seen a woman who insisted that her kids wear face masks and gloves along with lining the edges of the cart with blankets before putting them in the cart -- and yet she didn't wear a mask or gloves herself!  I watched a woman today who wore a mask and then wore her sweater on her front so that the sleeves were long enough to prevent her from touching anything with bare hands.  I've seen several people who have the masks tied onto their faces, but leave it so slack it doesn't cover their nose or mouth -- because their chin might catch 'rona?? 

Yes, I am at work every day.  And yes, I am careful about washing my hands and using my sanitizer on regular basis.  I try not to touch things that are touched often by others. When I'm forced to use a keypad for some reason or another, I use my knuckle not the pad of my fingers -- I've suddenly become aware that I am a finger-licker and am in the process of breaking that habit as well.  When I get home from work each night, I strip in the garage and leave my clothes in the washer.  (Sadie always gives me the tilted head look as if to say "What are you doing??"

It occurred to me that here in AZ, there were probably several weddings planned for the month of April -- all that planning and pre-paying are now down the drain?  Postponed?  Yikes. Weddings are stressful enough without having to un-do and then re-do later.

My days off can feel pretty stressful as well.  I'm busy washing clothes and bedding.  My days off are separated, so I'm doing it all twice every week.  I have a steam mop that I run across all my floors, I wipe down kitchen and bathroom counters with alcohol after I've cleaned.  I'm not sure my house has ever been *this* clean before .... but we do what we gotta do.

I keep wondering how we'll all look back on this. 

It seems as life changing as the gas lines in 1979
during the oil crisis.  Sitting for an hour (or more) in line
waiting for your turn at the pump.  Your car was either
"even or odd" based on your license plate, and that determined
what day you could line up for gas.   I was lucky, I worked for
a forklift dealership, and all our vehicles gassed up at the
corner Chevron station.  The attendants all knew us, and
the wait wasn't *so* bad.  My El Camino had commercial
plates, and commercial vehicles were exempt from the
"even or odd". 

And now, during another crisis, I'm working at a BigBoxStore.  And while I dislike shopping after work, I am at a store nearly every day, and I've not suffered without any necessary supplies.  Except cheese.  There was a day I ran out of shredded cheese and couldn't buy any for 3 days.  But a slice always worked in a pinch!  lol  We have a dedicated shopping hour every other Friday from 6-7am and are allowed to shop a freshly stocked store, and that's been a real blessing!  Especially for toilet paper.  hahaha

Social Distancing, et al

Another day, and day XX of this strange quarantine the world is under due to COVID-19.  There are posts, announcements, newscasts -- in whatever way they can, they are advising people to shelter in place.  It's been going on for a while.  Schools in Arizona were cancelled on March 15, and it was extended through the end of the school year.  Students are being home schooled, and/or doing their lessons on line.  Many parents' jobs are suspended; only those who are considered "essential" are working as usual (yes, that includes me at my BigBoxStore).

But I have to say that while announcements in the media about what they are doing to keep their workers safe make it sound good, it's really not.  And I'm ashamed that they would portray things one way and not admit to the reality.  The plexiglass shield between cashiers and customer hasn't happened yet.  They're limiting customers who come in the doors based on the square footage of a store.  But the reality is the Tire Lube Express is completely shut down so that footage shouldn't count.  Most people aren't shopping the entire garden center, that shouldn't count.  And truthfully, the back 1/4 of the footage is backroom space, and that shouldn't count either!   Based on the square footage of the store, 1500 shoppers could be in the store at one time.  We are more around the 500 mark, but that is too may people at a time! 

The ones who are shopping aren't getting 'essentials' -- they're relieving their boredom, having an outing with their kids (who tend to touch everything!) , even meeting up with other family members and having a reunion!  Shoppers try to approach me, want me to look at their phone even, because they're trying to find something.  SIX FEET, PEOPLE!! 

And yet, each day I go to work because I know that what I do is needed by the community and I want to do my part. 

It's extremely frustrating;  I am not easily aggravated, but it's getting worse.
and I fear my tongue will get the better of me!!

Weird World, Weird Times

I am not normally a fearful person.  Yes, this coronavirus is a scary thing, but I'm relatively healthy and still active.  I (try to) take good care of my self and my health; I slip up when it comes to eating, we could all do better in that area, I'm sure.  So while I'm trying to be smart about keeping a good social distance, washing my hands often, and trying to remember not to touch my face, I realize that there is a risk in doing anything more than sheltering in place. 

Most times, it doesn't bother me.

I do, however, tend to let worries get the best of me when I can't sleep at night.  Take last night, for instance.  I fell asleep and laid on my arm in one position for too long and woke up with it feeling a little achy - probably because I sleep on my side and tend to curl my arms in odd positions.  I also woke up with a dry mouth. 

And then the worries start.  Is it just a dry mouth?  Or wait .... is that also the beginning of a sore throat?  Why does my arm hurt?  Does anything else hurt?   Which makes me chuckle in the light of day ... of course other things hurt!  I'm over 60 and that's just what happens!

So yes, it was difficult to go back to sleep.  I got up, stretched my legs and arms to make sure they're all in working order, grab a fresh bottle of water and drink about half of it and my mouth felt better, and the "sore throat" feeling went away.  Yep.  Just another case of dry mouth.  (Maybe I was snoring with my mouth open...?)  But I still didn't fall right back to sleep until I took my temperature.  Below the normal mark, so *whew* I guess I'm OK and can stop the panic-worry.

This isn't normal behavior for me.  But then again, coronavirus isn't normal, and neither is weird shopping hours at the local stores, schools and parks closed, events cancelled.  The only part I like about all this is the lack of traffic when I drive to work in the morning!

I did head out to the local park that has a trail, but there were SO many people that I didn't stay more than 15 minutes.  No sense in being out among strangers!

Stay calm, be reasonable, use care and caution,
and wash your hands!

Turmoil

The constant turmoil that we're living under is a huge burden for most of us.

I like to joke that my own life hasn't changed much with the self-quarantine orders because as a retail worker, my job is essential.  I go to work each day as normal, and life at home hasn't changed either.  The only thing I avoid is extra shopping on my day off.  Which means that I shop for one thing or another on my way out the door from work, but that's OK.  It works.  For now.

Days off can be long, however.  What to do when there are hours to fill, and no place that we should be going?  I'm itching to get out and take photos, but being 60, I don't need to expose myself unnecessarily, either. 

My thoughts are constantly on a replay loop of whatever news I've gotten recently along with my conversations with my mother about how this is such a crazy mess.  It makes me wonder just how long this is going to last?  California just announced that schools remain closed until May 1. Ouch!

In the past, how many of us wished day in and day out for a few days' rest at home as we dragged our way to our jobs each morning?  Now that we have it, are we going stir crazy?  Or as we used to say, getting cabin fever?   For me, the one thing I decided to do with the enforced time home is roll a few gallons of paint and update my home.  What better way to stay off the couch and make things nice at the same time? 

These are uncertain times, and we all have
uncertain thoughts as we try to get through
each day safe and healthy.

The best thing each of us can do is to stay
at home and avoid contact until more is known.

Be safe out there!

The Panic of 2020

I'm not sure how the panic started.  There's a virus called coronavirus or COVID-19 that got its start in China and is spreading around the world.  When it started hitting the US, government officials from the top to local politicians began telling people to stay home, to "shelter in", in an attempt to prevent  the spread of it.  In many places, restaurants, bars and gathering places are all either closed, or open for take-out only. 

But what happened next has been most shocking to me.  People began shopping at my BigBox store and buying up loads of toilet paper.  Then paper towels and cleaning supplies.  The next step was buying the rest of groceries in bulk quantities so that our shelves are left with nothing on them!!

This is something I've never seen before. 

At my store, when we unload a trailer from our grocery side, we dispense toilet paper, paper towels, bottled water, and hand sanitizer, one per customer.  The only time I've seen this mentality is during a Black Friday sale!!





Empty shelves .....
Empty aisles .....
shocking!

I did my own grocery shopping six days ago,
and it hadn't begun.  Today I had to shop at
6 am in order to buy a package of steaks.




It's been a hell of a year this week!